"Carl's Lounge" (Off-Topic Discussion, Traditional Knife "Tales & Vignettes")

Thanks Kris, I'm glad you enjoyed watching it :thumbup:
 
A couple years in the making, but this is one finally coming together. A slipjoint from Aussie Bruce Barnett using his first mosaic damascus billet he made a few years ago, handle choice will be a beautiful piece of Lace Sheoak. Bruce will send it to from Bill Burke's after Blade show.

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Thanks Jerry, Bruce is a soon to be ABS Master Smith, should make for a nice little carry. Enrique is also finishing me up a special piece that has been in the making for a few years, hopefully in June.
 
Sounds like you have a some nice ones on the way, Kris. I can't wait to see them.
 
Maybe going to Texas after all!

Slowly, there has been a bit of an exodus of family from the Peoples Republic Of Maryland, to the Lone Star state. In 2013 we looked at Georgetown Texas, but I was not that impressed or incline. Karen's sister Diane had moved back to Texas and picked Georgetown to settle because it was close, but not too close to her kids and grandkids. I just didn't care for the mesquite and cactus thickets of the so called hill country. I was much more inclined to the gulf coast of Florida. Karen was so-so about Florida.

But…that little three letter word, Karen's youngest sister is now moving back to Texas, and now I'm getting shoveled my way with a snow shovel. Karen wants to be near her family and to make matters worse, daughter Jessica and her husband and grand daughter who now reside in Mission Viejo California, have announced that once their job is done in California, they are considering moving to Texas instead of returning to Maryland. o much for plans to move to the Florida gulf coast.

I'm not going to Georgetown, but I may consider the San Antonio area. I loved it when I was there at Ft. Sam Houston, but that was a longtime ago. This JUne, we're helping Karen's youngest sister move down, and I'm towing a U-haul trailer with my truck to Georgetown. I'm going to take a few days to drive down to the San Antonio area to check out the New Braunfels area just north of the San Antonio area. MOre green, real trees, closer to the gulf and fishing and sailing. May even check out Corpus Christi.

We have any member here in those areas that may helpful advise?
 
Carl, My brother lived in the New Braunfels area for roughly 10 years. He really liked it a lot and so did I the couple times I visited. I don't know that I could move there though. I like being closer to the coastline myself. I grew up and have been close to the coast all my life, that it has become a big part of our lives. For many years, I have fished, crabbed and clammed the salt waters of New England. I did a lot of that commercially for a while years ago, but now it's all strictly for pleasure.
 
[video=youtube;nMhaehb5AnE]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nMhaehb5AnE[/video]

I thought everyone in the country was moving to Austin. :D
You might take a look around Bastrop. It's about as far south of Austin as Georgetown is north) It's not as lush a landscape as Florida, I guess, but there are some lakes and state parks nearby. Doesn't feel as suburby as Georgetown.

There are a few other smaller towns gradually being swallowed by the "metroplex."
 
BigBiscuit said:
Carl, My brother lived in the New Braunfels area for roughly 10 years. He really liked it a lot and so did I the couple times I visited. I don't know that I could move there though. I like being closer to the coastline myself. I grew up and have been close to the coast all my life, that it has become a big part of our lives. For many years, I have fished, crabbed and clammed the salt waters of New England. I did a lot of that commercially for a while years ago, but now it's all strictly for pleasure.
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That is a lot of my objection to Georgetown. Too landlocked, too arid, and too far from the salt water. As far as I'm concerned, the closer to the gulf the better. We spent two weeks in Georgetown and by the end of that I was feeling mildly claustrophobic. I'm always happier near the water. I figure if we move to the Texas gold coast or close to it, then Karen can aways hop in the car and drive a few hours north to see her sisters, and I can go fishing out on the gulf for dinner. I've spent so much of my life around the water, the sound of seagulls is comforting to me. Plus I have so many very fond memories of San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Padre Island.
 
We are considering a move eventually. Probably going to wait for my grandson to graduate high school in four more years though. In talks with my wife, that was the one stipulation, live near the coast wherever it may be. Thankfully she agrees with that sentiment.
Good luck with your search and decision making Carl.
 
The Hill Country is one of my favorite spots, but the Austin area seemed pricey. My parents lived in San Antonio during WW II, at least until my dad was shipped out to the CBI theater. I traveled in Texas many times before I retired, nice folks from my experience.
 
jackknife said:
That is a lot of my objection to Georgetown. Too landlocked, too arid, and too far from the salt water. As far as I'm concerned, the closer to the gulf the better. We spent two weeks in Georgetown and by the end of that I was feeling mildly claustrophobic. I'm always happier near the water. I figure if we move to the Texas gold coast or close to it, then Karen can aways hop in the car and drive a few hours north to see her sisters, and I can go fishing out on the gulf for dinner. I've spent so much of my life around the water, the sound of seagulls is comforting to me. Plus I have so many very fond memories of San Antonio, Corpus Christi, and Padre Island.
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Hello,

Best wishes to you and your wife too!

I will be blunt but nice here about the water issue (I can relate to that myself.) and one other thought.

Trust your GUT about the WATER and missing it. Ocean, bay, large lakes, large rivers, x amount of miles to any good sized body of water - take it ALL INTO ACCOUNT.

I would say more about some moving issues but I will leave it at that shy of one thought.

Disclaimer: I know people (OLD, old friends and newer ones.) who moved from Maryland to Texas and some Texas born/raised ones to Montana. I know some who moved from MD to some super southern states too. I am not taking about Florida now either.

I know people who have children and/or other relatives and sometimes these people MOVE to be closer to their children or to some other family members. Eventually, the children decide to move for various reasons including getting transferred and the 'relatives or friends who MOVED to be CLOSER TO THEM' regretted making a BIG move just to end up in a town, state or in a PART of a state that they did not really LIKE to begin with. They moved for all of the wrong reasons or for some specific reasons that did not matter in the end.

^^^
I am not talking about myself now but about some close friends and a few family members who REALLY regretted a BIG move in the long run.

There will always be pros and cons about moving for any reason and ALL states have good and bad points about them in my opinion.

Sincerely,

Cate
Typos!
 
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Good advice Cate. I've moved eight or nine times in my working career. Not all of them good. I would not move somewhere I didn't like just to be close to family or friends.
 
Catherine_Montana said:
Hello,

Best wishes to you and your wife too!

I will be blunt but nice here about the water issue (I can relate to that myself.) and one other thought.

Trust your GUT about the WATER and missing it. Ocean, bay, large lakes, large rivers, x amount of miles to any good sized body of water - take it ALL INTO ACCOUNT.

I would say more about some moving issues but I will leave it at that shy of one thought.

Disclaimer: I know people (OLD, old friends and newer ones.) who moved from Maryland to Texas and some Texas born/raised ones to Montana. I know some who moved from MD to some super southern states too. I am not taking about Florida now either.

I know people who have children and/or other relatives and sometimes these people MOVE to be closer to their children or to some other family members. Eventually, the children decide to move for various reasons including getting transferred and the 'relatives or friends who MOVED to be CLOSER TO THEM' regretted making a BIG move just to end up in a town, state or in a PART of a state that they did not really LIKE to begin with. They moved for all of the wrong reasons or for some specific reasons that did not matter in the end.

^^^
I am not talking about myself now but about some close friends and a few family members who REALLY regretted a BIG move in the long run.

There will always be pros and cons about moving for any reason and ALL states have good and bad points about them in my opinion.

Sincerely,

Cate
Typos!
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Rest assured Cate, I will not be moving to anyplace I don't really like. Which is why I already told Karen we will not b moving to Georgetown TX. But…I have many very happy memories of San Antonio, and this june when I tow the U-haul trailer down to Georgetown to help Karens; sister move, I will be going down to S.A. to check it out. San Antonio is where I first met Karen very long ago, and it's been in the back of my mind about how cool it would be for us to go shooting at the very same range we met at. I googled it, and 'A PLace To Shoot' is still in existence, but I don't know if it's the same place and just moved. I remeber it being on Farm Road 1604, and now it's a bit north of that, and the photos on the web site don't look the same. A lot more modern and updated. We'll see.

But I'm not going to compromise on the water issue. I love fishing too much. I want to see Padre Island again, and maybe even camp out like we used to do. Maybe I'm looking too far back with rose tinted glasses, but I have to find out. But I do know one thing, that Ihave to leave Maryland. This is no longer the state I grew up in, and it's went in a direction that I can no longer tolerate. I am leaving, and I am in the process of painting the house and getting ready to sell it. Just not sure as t the final destination. But the People's Republik Of Maryland has lost me. As long as I have water to fish in, and a conservative populace that doesn't freak out if I pull out a knife the size of a SAK and ask if that weapon is legal, and can even get a concealed carry permit if I choose, I'll be pretty happy.
 
MT Damascus said:
A couple years in the making, but this is one finally coming together. A slipjoint from Aussie Bruce Barnett using his first mosaic damascus billet he made a few years ago, handle choice will be a beautiful piece of Lace Sheoak. Bruce will send it to from Bill Burke's after Blade show.
Click to expand...


Got the bad news today, but there is still a piece of the billet left, so Bruce will use that for mine. Won't be ready until July now, but I will happily wait.


From Bruce:
"I wish there was an easy way to explain this but as you will see in the pic I managed to snap the blade on ya folder this morning. I had peened the pivot pin and there was one little tight spot, you could still open and close it ok but it didn't "snap'' closed the last little bit so I placed the blade in the vice and was opening closing the blade. Because it was pretty cold in the shop this morning I had on a jacket which had loose cuffs. As I turned to walk over to the door, the handle of the knife went up my sleeve and I didn't stop in time. Absolutely gutted mate.....
>
> I have one piece of this steel left which I was keeping for myself, but hey, I can always make another billet down the track. "
 
MT Damascus said:
Got the bad news today, but there is still a piece of the billet left, so Bruce will use that for mine. Won't be ready until July now, but I will happily wait.


From Bruce:
"I wish there was an easy way to explain this but as you will see in the pic I managed to snap the blade on ya folder this morning. I had peened the pivot pin and there was one little tight spot, you could still open and close it ok but it didn't "snap'' closed the last little bit so I placed the blade in the vice and was opening closing the blade. Because it was pretty cold in the shop this morning I had on a jacket which had loose cuffs. As I turned to walk over to the door, the handle of the knife went up my sleeve and I didn't stop in time. Absolutely gutted mate.....
>
> I have one piece of this steel left which I was keeping for myself, but hey, I can always make another billet down the track. "
Click to expand...

Ouch!
 
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